2 Corinthians 8:16 Commentary and Bible Study

But in verse 16 the theme changes a little, and it is now about the priority of the Gospel. It is amazing how the inspired apostle always speaks. We sometimes think so differently and always he is the same. He does not say first and foremost, we are thankful for Titus. We are thankful he had a caring heart, that he came to minister to you, that he gave himself to you, that he was concerned for you. Instead, he says, ‘We thank God that he put this spirit into the heart of Titus.’ It is God’s doing. Is there no credit to Titus? Yes, there is some. He did not suppress or extinguish the gift of God or the movement of the Spirit of God. But the prime praise is to God. And you see what happens when you think like this. ‘Thanks be to God.’ The believers in Jerusalem when they received the assistance and the support would first and foremost thank God. Only secondarily would they be grateful to the Macedonians and to the Corinthians and to Titus the bearer of the relief and his party. First of all they would be grateful to God. They would see it as a movement of God who moved through his people to do this. And so they would get an additional tremendous benefit and assurance: God cares for us; God has done this great thing for us. So they would thank God more than they thanked the messenger.